Shri S.K. Pankaj, Additional Member (Production Unit), Railway Board recently conducted an extensive inspection and review of the manufacturing unit at Integral Coach Factory (ICF). During his visit, he delved into the development projects underway, particularly focusing on Vande Bharat coaches and Vande Metro manufacturing units.
More Details:
Shri S.K. Pankaj, Additional Member (Production Units), Railway Board, visited Integral Coach Factory (ICF), on 25th April, 2024 and held discussions with Shri U. Subba Rao, General Manager, ICF and other heads of departments regarding various works and projects that are underway at ICF. He also visited ICF workshops to inspect the Vande Bharat coaches, Vande Metro, office on Wheels and other coaches under production. Then he inspected the spring shop in the Shell Division and also met the staff representatives and received the representation from them.
ICF made record in FY 2023-24:
- ICF has created a new record by turning out the 1000th Distributed Power System (DPRS) coach in the current production year (2023-24) which is the highest number of DPRS Coaches produced in a production year by Indian Railways.
- DPRS type of coaches include coaches for vande Bharat train sets, Electric Multiple Units (EMU), Mainline Electric Multiple Units (MEMU), Self Propelled Inspection Cars (SPIC), Self Propelled Accident Relief Trains (SPART), etc.
Background:
Integral Coach Factory (ICF) is the World’s largest Railway Passenger Rolling Stock manufacturer with its total production of coaches since inception touched 70,000 coaches on 10th Oct. 2022. ICF manufactures all varieties of coaches ranging from:
- LHB type mainline coaches,
- Vistadome tourist coaches,
- Special coaches for Heritage tourism & Defense,
- Wide-body Electrical Multiple Units (EMU),
- Mainline EMUs (MEMU),
- Metro coaches,
- Diesel Multiple Units (DMU),
- Self-Propelled Accident Relief Trains (SPART),
- Self-Propelled Inspection Car (SPIC) and the latest state-of-the-art Vande Bharat trainsets. ICF also exports coaches and DMUs to various countries in the Afro-Asian region.
Future Plans:
- ICF is planning to manufacture 3241 coaches in coming years in about 30 variants including new types trains in Vande Bharat express.
- ICF will be turning out another version of Vande Bharat trains called Vande Metro in the current year. This train will cater to intercity short distance commuter travel and will have double leaf doors for easy boarding and deboarding of passengers.
- To meet the public aspirations of long distance travel by Vande Bharat train, ICF is in the process of developing a sleeper version of Vande Bharat with improved interiors and will be turning out in the current year.
- ICF has taken up the development of Gati Shakti Train for faster freight transport in Vande Bharat platform. This train will serve E-commerce, fast moving consumer goods and refrigerated commodities.
Conclusion:
Shri S.K. Pankaj’s thorough inspection underscores the commitment to excellence at ICF. With a focus on key projects like Vande Bharat and Vande Metro, the visit highlights the strides being made in India’s rail manufacturing sector.
Source: ICF | Images Credit: Integral Coach Factory
